CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When you hear about cyberattacks, you typically think about big companies being targeted but the truth is, criminals are now focusing on small businesses because they're the ones who aren't expecting it --- small businesses like TDR Plumbing in Charlotte, North Carolina.
"When we first started off it was we operated with a notepad and a pen for most things that we did," said David Olstad, Jr.
He and his dad have been growing TDR Plumbing for more than 10 years.
It wasn't too long ago that the business was under attack by a cybercriminal who gained access to Olstad's Jr.'s father's email account.
Olstad, Jr. explained, "They sent an email to our office manager requesting a $60,000 payment wired to a specific account posing as my father to my office manager. He wasn't in the office at the time so she, she was actually proceeding to do that for him and there was another phone call that came in from him about a separate item and she questioned it on the phone and we come to find out that this was someone posing as him and of course requested this payment having sent to a false account."
It was that one chance exchange with the office manager that saved the company from sending money to a scammer with no way to get it back.
Cybersecurity expert Taylor Busby of SeedSpark said small businesses like TDR Plumbing need to have a plan but often don't.
With limited resources and tight budgets, cybersecurity just isn't a top priority and the criminals are banking on it.
Busby said, "A lot of its data breaches. A huge issue is phishing attempts. You know phishing typically takes form in a text message or email and there are a lot of bots used with phishing attempts but what it really does is preys on the individuals and employees of small and medium-sized businesses to get them to click on a link and take some sort of action and in many cases that action is a wire transfer or some sort of monetary transfer that can be really, really devastating for business."
In fact, SeedSpark said when a small business suffers a cyberattack, 60% go out of business within six months.
So take this as a warning…
Busby said, "I think every small business person if they don't have some sort of cybersecurity standards in place they need to do an assessment and take a hard look at it because the threat is real."
Wake Up Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at Wake Up Charlotte.
SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Stitcher || TuneIn || Google Podcasts
All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere.